Signs of the Times

Who run the world? Collaborative filtering recommender algorithms. Also known as ‘Customers who bought this item also bought…’ suggestions. They’ve become ubiquitous in the online world, determining what we look at, buy and like.

Perhaps you’re worried that as your life moves online and Alexa moves into your living room, your decisions are essentially being made for you. Perhaps you’re worried you live in a bubble. Perhaps you’ve never thought about it.

Hopefully, you are now. Which was the point of putting these giant signs up in locations around New Zealand.

Sole Impressions

Many springs ago, we noticed something peculiar. The magnolia petals scattered on the footpath were showing up distinctive marks.

Shoeprints.

The weight of people walking atop the freshly fallen petals - and the shoes on their feet - caused a reaction best described as bruising. During the London spring of 2017, we gathered a collection of the most iconic shoes we could find. Then we stood all over a bunch of petals. Here they are in all their beautiful bruised glory.

Flags of the Star Wars Universe

This project is a combination of my two childhood obsessions: Star Wars and flag design.

As a child the two most important posters on my wall were my Flags of the World poster and my map of the Star Wars Galaxy.

15 years on, now as an art director, I begun the process of putting those two worlds together. I started designing a flag for every planet in the Star Wars universe. This not only included those featured in the films, but comic books, animated series and video games. As of writing this, I have completed 103 flag designs - those who know Star Wars well, will know I have a good few more planets to finish.

The designs are in keeping with a lot of the basic rules of flag design, otherwise known as vexillology. The use of flag traditions such as the canton, chevron and the 2:3 ratio have been utilised by myself to keep a level of uniformness. Using these traditions I created the designs by closely looking at the historical, economic, physical, political and societal attributes of the planets. From there I took creative liberty to make them as striking and plausible as possible. While I don't pretend to be an expert on either flag design or the Star Wars universe these are my loving interpretations. The information on each flag I got from the humorously named and beautifully thorough website, wookiepedia.com.

Mystery Lucky City Box

It’s easy to visit a foreign city. There you’ll be greeted by McDonald’s. Starbucks and cliché souvenir shops. These things don’t make a city special. It’s the things you find in a gutter, down an alleyway or happen across that make a city unique.

‘Mystery Lucky City Box’ curates these curiosities and provides the cultural relevance. It pulls the shiny exterior of a city off and offers a raw, authentic look at what’s underneath. MLCB puts the feel, taste and smell of a city you’re not familiar with in your hands.

---Over a pint, Iain Tait mentioned a box of foreign objects his friend sent him. We took the idea and ran with it. Our London box was sent to W+K offices around the world and a limited number went on sale - and sold out - at tokyobike.

United Zealand

I am from New Zealand, but am now living in the United Kingdom. It has made me realise just how much New Zealand culture - is just English culture.

C.T.C.

Carlton Terrace Crew is a mild flavoured gang association started by myself and six friends in early 2005. While not quite reaching 'notorious' the gang did have a presence on the corner of Carlton Terrace and Arundel Crescent, New Plymouth, New Zealand.